Mindful and moving

Today was Year 10's turn to enjoy some teambuilding activities outside, expertly assisted during the day by any teachers who would normally have them for a lesson. I had double Year 10 Biology first thing so scooted over to the playing field straight after form time. I was looking forward to supervising the tasks but, instead, I was given the not insignificant challenge of looking after fourteen students with 'issues', who were refusing to take part. 

It actually worked out really well, as my group went to the library for a mental health workshop being run by the Lucy Rayner Foundation. It was incredibly moving hearing Lucy's mum and sister share their experiences of losing their daughter/sister to suicide and seeing how they've turned this tragedy into a mission to help others suffering from a whole range of mental health issues.

My students needed a lot of encouragement to do any of the tasks at first but, when they did, they were superstars and I'm sure they did get a lot out of the session. I don't think it's any coincidence that when I went back outside in the last lesson, they were much more involved.